Reorganized Government
General Assembly of Virginia

July 22, 1861

House
of Delegates met at 10 A. M.

Prayer
by Rev. J. L. Clarke, of the M. E. Church.

A
communication from the Senate informed the House that that body had
adopted the report of the Committee of Conference, relative to the
bill authorizing the issue of small notes; also concurs in the
resolution of thanks to Gen. McClellan and troops; also concurs in
appointing a Committee of Conference in relation to House bill No.
4, regulating the volunteer forces not mustered into the service of
the United States; and has adopted the House substitute for the
Senate resolution in relation to the $27,000 obtained from the
branch of the Exchange Bank of Weston.

Mr.
SMITH, from the Committee on Courts of Justice, reported a bill to
prohibit the county courts and overseers of the poor from making
levies and appropriations to aid the rebellion against the General
Government.

Mr.
LOGAN, from the Finance Committee, reported a bill to exempt from
taxation the real estate occupied by the Northwestern Virginia
Agricultural Society.

The
bill was read a first and second time and ordered to its
engrossment.

House
bill No. 6, prescribing the duties and fixing the compensation of
the clerks of the two Houses was taken up. The bill as amended by
the Senate provided that the salary of the clerk of the Senate
should be $900 per annum, instead of six dollars per day during
sessions of that body, as provided by the original bill; which
amendment was disagreed to; also provided that the clerk of the
House receive $1,000 per annum, which was concurred
in.

The
non-concurrence in the first amendment was reported to the
Senate.

House
bill No. 7, appropriating public revenue, &ampc., was taken
up.

Mr.
FARNSWORTH offered a series of amendments. The bill and amendments
were committed to the Finance Committee.

Bills
on their second reading were taken up.

House
bill No. 21, regulating the sale of munitions of war, &ampc.,
was read a second time. The bill authorizes the Governor to appoint
in any county or city of the State one or more agents to keep for
sale munitions of war under such restrictions as he may determine;
and provides that any persons selling such articles without a
permit shall be fined $500 for such offence.

It also
authorizes the seizure of munitions of war when found in the
possession of unauthorized parties, and the arrest of persons known
to be inimical to the Government of the United States, or the
reorganized Government of Virginia.

Mr.
WILLIAMSON of Wirt, moved to indefinitely postpone.

The
motion was rejected.

Various
trivial amendments were offered.

Mr.
VANCE moved to so amend as to not confer upon the Governor the
authority to make the arrests indicated in the bill. He said the
Constitution guaranteed the right of trial by jury, and he
considered this provision of the bill
unconstitutional.

On this
motion

Mr.
WEST said:

Mr.
Speaker: The time has passed by for us to take into
consideration constitutional quibbles. The time has come for this
House to act, and act promptly.

I have
received intelligence this morning from the county of Wetzel -
where, perhaps, we have expected as little danger as in any county
in this Commonwealth - informing me that these very desperadoes
that gentlemen propose here to screen from just vengeance, have
murdered a good Union man, and that one of them is a magistrate of
that county. I think, sir, the time has come that we should
endeavor to throw out all the guards and precautions we possibly
can, to protect the lives of Union men. If the public safety
demands it, I am for arresting these men, and if that is not
sufficient to deter them from acts of violence, I am in favor of
hanging them. I hope we will not urge constitutional quibbles, when
the lives of our people are jeopardized every day, and when it is
our business here to legislate so as to take care of their
lives.

Mr.
VANCE moved to lay the bill on the table.

The
motion was rejected.

The
question was taken and the bill ordered to its
engrossment.

House
bill No. 22, to exempt uniformed volunteer companies from
performing ordinary military duty with ununiformed militia, was
taken up, read a second time and ordered to be
engrossed.

Senate
bill No. 2 was taken up from the table and referred to the
Committee on Courts of Justice.

Mr.
HOOTON offered the following:

Resolved, by the General Assembly that the
clerks of the several County Courts of this Commonwealth be
required as early as practicable to transmit to the Auditor of
Public Accounts duplicates of all bonds in their offices given by
the Sheriffs and Notary Publics, within the period of the terms of
their present offices.

Resolved, That the clerks of the several
Circuit Courts be required as early as practicable to transmit to
the Auditor of Public Accounts, a list of all the entries made in
their several courts for allowances made to witnesses to be paid by
the Commonwealth, within the last twelve months.

Resolved, That the Clerks of the several
Circuit and County Courts be required to transmit as early as
practicable to the Auditor of Public Accounts a list of all jury
allowances for which the Commonwealth is liable within the last
twelve months.

The
rule was suspended and the resolutions adopted.

Mr.
HOOTON was appointed to notify the Senate of their
adoption.

Mr.
CROTHERS offered the following:

Resolved, That the Committee on Roads and
Internal Navigation consider the expediency of reporting a bill
exempting the mail carrier from toll on the Wheeling and Bethany
Turnpike.

Adopted.

Mr.
SMITH moved to take up the substitute for Senate bill No. 1,
enacting a Stay Law.

Mr.
FARNSWORTH offered a substitute for the substitute, which, after
considerable discussion, was rejected.

The
question recurring on the substitute (offered by Mr. Smith, of
Marion) it was ordered to be engrossed, as follows:

AN
ACT STAYING THE COLLECTION OF CERTAIN DEBTS UNTIL THE 1ST DAY OF
JUNE, 1863.

1. Be in enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That no
writ of fieri facias or order, or other process, shall issue
under any judgement or decree, heretofore rendered by any Court of
Record of this Commonwealth, or Justice of the Peace, nor upon any
judgment, nor under any decree that may hereafter be rendered by
any such Court or Justice while this act shall remain in force; nor
shall there be any sales under any deed of trust heretofore
executed, without the consent of all the parties thereto, nor under
any decree or Judgment now rendered or that may hereafter be
rendered, until otherwise provided by law. And in any case where a
levy has been made prior to the passage of this act, the property
so levied upon shall be returned to the owner, and the judgment
upon which the levy was made, shall be a lien upon all the
property, both personal and real, of the debtor, and shall have
priority over all other judgements, as to the personal property of
said debtor.

2. Be it further enacted, that any person may sue for any debt
and maintain any action at law or in equity, and proceed to
judgment thereon, and any judgment, execution, order or decree now
rendered or issued or that may hereafter be rendered, shall in
addition to the provisions of Chapter 186 and 188 of the Code of
1860, constitute of lien on all the estate, both personal and real,
of the judgment debtor, from and after the docketing of any such
judgment, as provided for in the 3d and 4th Sections of Chapter 186
of the Code of Virginia. This provision shall include all
judgments, whether rendered by Justices of the Peace or Courts of
this Commonwealth.

3. Be it further enacted, that nothing herein contained, shall
be construed so as to interfere with or abridge the laws now in
force in relation to attachments, and action of debtinne and
trover, nor in relation to actions of ejectment and unlawful entry
and detainer, nor in relation to the prosecution of criminal
offences and the collection of fines, taxes, county levies and all
debts due the Commonwealth; but the same may be proceeded in as now
provided for by law. Nor shall this act apply to liabilities on the
part of Sheriffs, Constables or other public officers, either to
the State, counties, corporations or individuals, nor to debts
hereafter contracted, nor to deeds of trust hereafter executed, but
payment of and sales under the same may be enforced and proceeded
in as if this act had not been passed. Nor shall the time during
which this act is in force be computed in any case in which the
statute of limitation may come in question.

4. Be it further enacted, that any person or persons who shall
voluntarily leave his or their place or places of business, home
and property, and go into the armies of the so-called Confederate
States, or who having so gone, shall remain in said armies of the
said so-called Confederate States, twenty days after the passage of
this act, shall be deemed a non-resident and may be proceeded
against by attachment as is now provided for by law against
non-residents.

5. This act shall be in force from its passage, and shall remain
in force until repealed or changed by the General Assembly of
Virginia, and if not so repealed or changed, shall expire at the
end of the regular session of the General Assembly of Virginia.

The following message was communicated from the Governor:

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
July 22, 1861.

To the House of Delegates:

GENTLEMEN: As your session is drawing to a close, I deem it all
important to call your attention to the fact that I have at my
command only two thousand muskets. Calls are coming in from
different sections of the Northwest, from Union men, for arms and
munitions of war to defend them against the threatened incursions
of armed secessionists. I am supplying the demands as fast as they
come in, but in a few days all the munitions at my command will be
disposed of.

A number of volunteer companies have organized themselves, under
a permission I gave them some time ago, in the county of Wayne and
adjacent counties, and have been doing noble service in the cause
of the Union. These volunteers will have to be paid. I have no
doubt their patriotic example will be followed by the Union men in
other sections of the State. I have no funds at my disposal
sufficient to purchase arms, accoutrements, and other munitions of
war for home service.

I therefore hope you will give this matter your immediate
attention, and make an appropriation of at least $200,000 for the
purposes indicated, authorizing the Executive to expend each part
of it as may be necessary for the purchase of munitions of war, and
in payment of State troops who may be employed in actual service in
putting down rebellion under the order of the Executive.

F. H. PEIRPOINT

Referred to the Committee on Finance.

The House then took a recess.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The House reassembled at 2 o'clock P. M.

The special order, it being the consideration of the bill and
substitutes reported by the Committee on a Division of the State,
was taken up.

The bill was reported by the Clerk.

Mr. RUFFNER inquired if there was a quorum present.

The Chair responded in the affirmative.

Mr. RUFFNER - Then I would propose that the resolution I offered
on this subject, in behalf of the minority of the Committee, be
brought forward as a substitute for the bill just read.

The Clerk read the resolution as follows:

Resolved, That, while we consider the division of the
State desirable and inevitable, we believe it inexpedient at
present, to legislate on the subject.

THE CHAIR - The question is on the adoption of the minority
report as a substitute for the original House bill No. 20.

Mr. WEST - I am inclined to think it would not be proper to act
on this bill with so very thin a house as we have at present, and I
think it will be an impossibility to get a full house at any time
during the present legislature in our afternoon sessions. I move,
sir, that the bill and substitutes lay on the table and be made the
order of the day for ten o'clock to-morrow.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. SMITH - If there be nothing further before the House, and in
order to afford an opportunity to the committees, who have much to
do, to be at work, I move that this House do now adjourn until
to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.

The motion was agreed to, and the House adjourned.

SENATE.

In the Senate, no business of importance was transacted, except
the passage of the following resolution in relation to a division
of the State:

Resolved, That, in the opinion of the General Assembly of
Virginia, all the great industrial and commercial interests both of
the East and West, imperatively demand that at the proper time the
State should be divided.

But while they entertain this opinion, they are also of the
opinion that it is inexpedient at this time to legislate upon the
subject, and the preliminary proceedings should emanate from a
Convention and not from the General Assembly.